Date: 2018-11-29

The Kwara State House of Assembly has described the demise of its pioneer Speaker, Alhaji Shehu Usman, as a 'colossal loss' to the people of the state.

The Speaker, Dr. Ali Ahmad, made the observation, while reacting to the death of the octogenarian in Ilorin.

Dr. Ahmad, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Abdul-Rahman Sanni, explained with sadness, that with his death, the state had lost one of its founding fathers, who laid a solid foundation of socio- economic and political transformation of the state.

The Speaker, who recalled his last encounter with the late Speaker , said he would miss his fatherly advice.

He said the pioneer Speaker was full of life when members joined him in his 70th birthday recently, at his GRA, Ilorin residence, adding that the deceased's modest contributions to parliamentary democracy in Kwara State, in particular, and the third legislature of the Senate, would remain indelible in the nation's history.

Dr. Ahmad condoled the Emir of Lafiagi, Alhaji Saadu Kawu Haliru, the deceased immediate family, government and people of Kwara State, over his death and prayed Allah to grant his soul Al-janat firdouz.

Alhaji Usman, who was elected into the State House of Assembly in the 1979 general elections to represent Lafiagi Constituency, served as Speaker of the House between October 1979 and October 1983.

He was elected into the Senate in the 1983 general elections to represent Borgu/ Edu/Moro Senatorial District on the platform of the ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN).